ebr 14913 Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 Looks like Media Browser Theater. That's because the original design influence for both products came from the same person - swhitmore. Not a fan of the charcoal gradients underneath the images. Would prefer the text overlayed on the image itself. As I mentioned before, the sub-text is lost on most backgrounds. So, you really need a clear area down there of some sort. Any plans for additional client support? Hopefully, but we'll just have to see how many folks actually end up using it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 Okay, decided to listen to you guys and try to work out a way to get rid of the bottom layer . With some extra work on the translucent overlay, I think I have something that will work. It does have the side-effect of getting fewer tiles on screen at once (because the tiles are a wider aspect without the bottom border). Let me know if you prefer this over the version with the sub-text area. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWebsmith 598 Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 i prefer this newest look but will defer to the group opinion in the end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techywarrior 688 Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Well, I don't have MB Plus but I think the newer mockup is better. You only actually lose 1 box (or is this screenshot not typical of the rest?) so it doesn't seem like that big a deal. I also like how the right side now is more even in that both boxes are cut off. At least with this screenshot, it really makes it feel like you slide over to see the next section. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swhitmore 781 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) Okay, decided to listen to you guys and try to work out a way to get rid of the bottom layer . With some extra work on the translucent overlay, I think I have something that will work. It does have the side-effect of getting fewer tiles on screen at once (because the tiles are a wider aspect without the bottom border). Let me know if you prefer this over the version with the sub-text area. This looks much better, well done. I laughed so much about the clock. I forgot that I made it big. I don't know why, but just seeing it implemented gave me a different opinion on it. Is the text being treated with the same transparency? I'm not sure what it is, but the tile text doesn't seems as white as the main heading, especially the item count. This makes it a little harder to read, 'True Detective' being a good example. Although without looking at it on a TV, I'm not sure how it will turn out then. It might just be my crappy work screen. It might also be worth dropping the opacity a little more on the text background. Edited July 23, 2014 by swhitmore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koleckai Silvestri 1150 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 It might also be worth dropping the opacity a little more on the text background. The text would stand out more with a shadow to the right and below it. Nothing too in your face but a dark shadow would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 The item count/last played date/added date (what I referred to above as 'sub-text') is lighter on purpose. I don't want it to have as much weight as the title of the item. It is completely different information so I want it to look different. Especially with a long title that wraps around. The text would stand out more with a shadow to the right and below it. Nothing too in your face but a dark shadow would help. I might try that with the titles. Thanks. I don't really want the other information to stand out any more than it does now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aspdend 174 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I like the new layout - much more appealing in my opinion, however, I don't like the height of the text background. On the True Detective tile it looks proportionally right, but on the smaller tiles it covers too much of the image... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 I like the new layout - much more appealing in my opinion, however, I don't like the height of the text background. On the True Detective tile it looks proportionally right, but on the smaller tiles it covers too much of the image... Well, pick your poison - this is another reason there was extra space below the tile before. You can't get the whole tile being an image and not also take up more of that image to show the necessary information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Okay, here is a try with the text shadow suggestion by @. I'm a little torn because, while it does make the text stand out better, it is also a little "rougher" looking. WMC is already a challenge to get things to look sharp due to all the scaling it does. But, it is also hard to tell in this smaller format. I may put it out with the shadow and see what it looks like on the big screen. And a little bigger shot to compare. With shadow: Without shadow: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aspdend 174 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Well, pick your poison - this is another reason there was extra space below the tile before. You can't get the whole tile being an image and not also take up more of that image to show the necessary information. I personally had no issue with the extra space under the image before - although I do think it looks better with the new translucent background to the text overlaying the image. However, when the text background is half the size of the image...that doesn't appeal as much...people eh? who'd deal with them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 I just want to thank everyone who chimed in here to help me refine this new layout. I think the interface for MB Plus has improved significantly with these changes. Thanks! I think I'm about ready to push it as a beta and see what a wider audience thinks when it just changes on them . 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWebsmith 598 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 agree completely..its really nice and once-again (esp now that you roped channel access into it ) has replaced the chocolate ehs on our 2 primary htpcs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAS 225 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I'm trying to install this and mess around but I guess I already used up my trial I'm assuming that MB2 license didnt carry over for this which is fine and I havent been reading back to confirm this. Are the fonts and colors inside this interface customizable via a mcml file for MBC? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Hang on a sec and I'll hook you up. Nice to see you around . Yes, it isn't published but there is still the ability to create a custom skin. Three skins are included - the default, one that fit with the old "Pearl" theme and one that fits with stock WMC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesegeezer 3086 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Really liking the look of this. Great work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swhitmore 781 Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I think the shadow makes a big difference being able to read it. Without that, the text 'fav actors' was quite difficult. Well done mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWebsmith 598 Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I'm trying to install this and mess around but I guess I already used up my trial I'm assuming that MB2 license didnt carry over for this which is fine and I havent been reading back to confirm this. Are the fonts and colors inside this interface customizable via a mcml file for MBC? for all new to mb...reading between the lines here should make you happy... BAS is still pretty much king of mbc theme skinning in my mind. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jvtm 13 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 No. It is MB Plus. Just picked up MBPLUS today. Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgileHumor 123 Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Love the new look! THanks EBR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jvtm 13 Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Hey @@ebr does MBP support pictures? I cant seem to see my family picture folders in the main screen. I only see movies, music and tv. Am I missing something? thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 It doesn't do anything special with them but you can attach a Media Folder containing pictures to any category you wish and they will show as a tile group with a "more" button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jvtm 13 Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 It doesn't do anything special with them but you can attach a Media Folder containing pictures to any category you wish and they will show as a tile group with a "more" button. Ok, so just to make sure I understand.... When using the EHS in chocolate (w/o MBPLUS) I get a category called Family Pictures after making a pictures folder in media under MBS. Can I get this sort of category on the MBPLUS EHS? SOrry if my wording is poor. I can add some screenshots soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted August 20, 2014 Author Share Posted August 20, 2014 See the setup guide in the description topic for MB Plus. You would add the "Family Pictures" Media Folder to whatever category you wish it to show on using the MB Plus configuration pages. You could also create a whole category called "Pictures" and then hang multiple folders off of it. You would want that category to be a "Custom" one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jvtm 13 Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 See the setup guide in the description topic for MB Plus. You would add the "Family Pictures" Media Folder to whatever category you wish it to show on using the MB Plus configuration pages. You could also create a whole category called "Pictures" and then hang multiple folders off of it. You would want that category to be a "Custom" one. Ok cool I'll give this a try today. Thanks for the help @@ebr! I'll let you know how it goes. Cheers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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